Each market — industrial, office and retail — saw vacancy rates fall and rental rates increase. But through the first three quarters of the year, the industrial sector saw the highest growth with a net gain of more than 1.1 million square feet.

During the third quarter, the citywide vacancy rate was 7.3 percent, a nearly 34 percent drop compared with the same period last year when the vacancy rate was at 11 percent, according to data from Xceligent Inc., an industry research firm. Tight inventory coupled with strong demand pushed up rental rates to $7.54 per square foot, representing a nearly 5 percent increase over last year.

“Across the board, general growth is occurring and that has caused the increase in demand,” said Hank Pruitt of commercial real estate firm Pruitt Realty. Still, he said some investors remain cautious, pointing to the economy's slow growth.

During the quarter, Amazon finished and moved into its 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse. In addition, New Mexico-based Titan Development revealed plans for a 124-acre industrial park in Schertz.

The office market saw vacancy rates slip to 19 percent, a 4.5 percent decrease from the same time last year when the rate was nearly 20 percent. For the year through the third quarter, the sector managed to rack up more than a 334,000-square-foot net gain.

Top-tier space remained the hardest to come by, especially on the far North Side. For example, that part of town had more than 2 million square feet of premium space in its inventory, but the vacancy rate was 6.2 percent.

The demand for newer, premium office space is pushing developers to consider building — even without pre-leases in place.

Stream Realty Partners is expected to start construction early next year on a 125,000-square-foot, five-story office building at the corner of Lockhill Selma Road and Loop 1604, said Ryan Harrison, a company vice president. The building should be complete by early 2015. About 20 percent is already pre-leased.

For the second quarter in a row, the retail sector saw the vacancy rate fall, leading to a net gain in occupied space.

During the third quarter, the vacancy rate fell to 10.6 percent, a 7 percent dip compared with the same time last year. So far this year, the sector has posted a net gain of nearly 264,000 square feet of space. Rental rates grew 46 cents to $16.33 per square foot.

Despite rising interest rates, the industry is expected to see continued growth into next year, said Seth Prescott, a vice president at Stream Realty.

“(The commercial real estate market) is getting tighter and tighter,” he said. “But there's a lot of opportunity out there for stuff to get done.”